August recaps

Complete list, and repeats*:

1. Sense and Sensibility (1995)*
2. Fried Green Tomatoes (1992)
3. Annie (TV) (1999)
4. Rent (2005)
5. The Upside of Anger (2005)
6. The Producers (2005)
7. The Ice Harvest (2005)
8. Hoodwinked! (2006)
9. Casanova (2005)
10. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005)
11. V for Vendetta (2006)*

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang

Man, I haven’t had so much fun watching a murder mystery like this since Pulp Fiction (what do people call this genre exactly? neo-noir?). Kiss Kiss Bang Bang—the title should say for itself—is genius, hilarious, and surprisingly a real charmer. I admit I was pretty skeptic at first, not knowing anything of it except recalling that sometime ago the critics were throwing a few praises about the movie in which the freshly out-of-rehab Robert Downey, Jr. starred in. Only after I checked it just now that sometime ago was actually more than a year ago, and the rating is more than good; it’s almost glittery.

The center of attention is Harry Lockhart, a petty thief from New York flown to L.A by a casting accident. Harry is basically a loser who’s never really accomplished anything in his life, but he’s a nice guy who steals your sympathy with his decent attitude. Another center of attention is one Harmony Faith Lane, who, at age 7, described by Harry as “soon-to-be a fucked up girl” from a little town in Midwest, and at 16 ran away to L.A to try out her luck but never really got famous. In a way her life did turn up a little, well, fucked up when her beloved sister (who, btw, had had a more fucked up childhood than she did–I’m sorry, I can’t help myself) was found dead, supposedly murdered, left with Harmony’s identity. The there’s this Gay Perry, a consultant who does detective work for a producer, and ah, yes, he’s really gay.

Because this is a murder mystery, and murder and mystery are not appropriate dinner table conversation topics, let’s skip to the other aspects of the movie. (No, I’m just not good with synopsis, didn’t I tell you before? Besides, this is getting too lengthy already.) For me the entertainment value of this movie doesn’t really lie on the mystery or the murder, as I still feel there are unexplained gaps here and there, not to mention the rather patchy ending (Abraham Lincoln? wtf?? it did it for me nevertheless), but the witty lines and seemingly painful/harmless events in one scene after another were more than I asked for. Harry Lockhart himself narrated the story in the viewer’s point of view; it’s like asking “hello, how are you, audience?” and “thanks for watching this movie”, but wait, he actually did! My point is, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang is not perfect, it may not be comparable to… hmm… a modern L.A Confidential?, and it’s not that serious, it contains scenes that ought to be laughable in action movies, but because it is what it is, a half-hearted murder mystery equipped with characters who could do better than act as amateur detectives, see how it turns out to be.

It turns out just the way it is supposed to be enjoyed. Twisted, sick, charming entertainment.

4/5.

Ah, by the way, I’ve always liked Robert Downey, Jr. He sings too!

The Producers

The problem with remakes is that anywhere, anytime, they will always be compared to the originals. The Producers has two disadvantages of being a remake of a very successful Broadway play, and of a movie penned by the same guy who later turned it into a Broadway show. It seems like, even after 38 years, Mel Brooks himself hasn’t had enough of the story, eh?

Whatever the case is, I kinda enjoyed the 2005 version. This I can say because I haven’t seen the original nor the Broadway versions, so I have no comparisons or judgments to make, except for it belonging to the musical genre per se, which overall in my opinion is a very bad mistake already (with exception to the only musical I adore, Chicago). The set looks like replica of a stage rather than a real movie set. It’s like watching a Broadway show being taped, and for me personally it’s a bigger annoyance than listening to crappy songs.

Speaking of the songs, who cares what the hell Will Ferrell was mumbling about in his fake German accent? Der Guten Tag Hop-Clop is one crazy fun romp indeed! The jokes are rather corny, but this is where it got my attention. Maybe I just didn’t get to watch too many movies lately, or I was severely in need of fresh, lively entertainment. It’s stupid, offensive, seen before, and I just loved it.

Nathan Lane in unbearably hilarious just by being himself. Matthew Broderick… I can’t quite get rid of his association with that dorky movie Godzilla. As for Uma Thurman, her character is an insignificant, flaunty bitch, and somehow, it just sits well with me to see her acting uselessly that way. Sigh, I wish she just returns to the kungfu fighting warrior style like she did in Kill Bill. And the rest of the cast… man, did they keep it gay.

Fun stuff. Not for the squeamish type.

3/5.

Fried Green Tomatoes

Looking at the lack of update around here, I don’t think I’m really up to maintain a blog after all.. Life interferes, what can I say. Major life changes. Anyway, if I’d seen more movies, I’d've updated more. Or so I said to myself everytime.

The last movie I watched was actually Disney’s Annie, but other than two popular songs (“Tomorrow” and “It’s The Hard Knock Life” ), the rest of it sucked. Bad. Before that, it was Fried Green Tomatoes, another venture into a movie which I’ve heard of only from its soundtrack. My first opinion as the story unfolded was.. “man, this is going to be a story about a tomboy”, and later on… “lesbian love story?”, but as it reached the end, I found my eyes slightly shed in tears.

Because I’m never good with synopsis, here’s a.. borrowed synopsis:

In a Southern nursing home, a feisty resident and old local fixture named Ninny Threadgoode (Tandy) befriends Evelyn Couch (Kathy Bates) a depressed housewife and stirs her to action with an inspirational tale. She tells the story of a transcendent friendship between two young women living in Georgia in the 1930s, Idgie Threadgoode (Mary Stuart Masterson) and Ruth (Mary Louise Parker), who forge a powerful bond after witnessing a terrible tragedy together. The two women open a cafe (where fried green tomatoes are a house specialty) together in their small Southern town of Whistle Stop and manage to survive the hardships of life, despite racism, prejudice and the pressures of trying to live their lives as individuals in a strict and close-minded Southern society.

Fried Green Tomatoes is everything a southern movie should be: among others are the typical accent, the manners, the race and pride issues. At its heart it’s a story about friendship that stretches from childhood to death. The character Idgie is like no other I’ve ever seen. She made me believe her relationship with Ruth (I figure it’s more than friendship; too many subtle hints of flirtation to ignore) is worth sacrificing for. If I were her, I’d go as far to kill anyone who threatens my best friend and BBQ him for lunch. Needless to say, she played the role of a tomboy very well.

What bothered me while watching this was the brief showing of Kluxers in an act of tormenting of a black man. As if the picture of a KKK member with his head cloth on carrying a torch was not creepy enough already. It gives me chills everytime. I’m just glad it wasn’t lynching; it could carry on as a nightmare. (Die, you racists!)

This movie made me laugh (Evelyn, in responding to whether she has problem with her sexuality, says: “Uh….No, ma’am. But, I do have a problem with my girdle.”), inspired (“Towanda!!!”), sorrowful (when Buddy Jr. lost his arm), and a bunch of other mixed feelings I can’t quite express well in words. But on top of everything else, it made me feel good being a woman. And having some really good friends around me.

For a similar viewing pleasure, I recommend Terms of Endearment.

4.5/5.